Page 15 - voices-2022-06

Reflections on the Year That Was

Eldred Brown, DTM - District 7 Director

Reflections on the Year That Was

see what worked and what didn’t, and bounce and members lost. I like to think, though, that
back repeatedly from our failures. We also had our Trio’s consistent pursuit of our shared vision
to adapt rapidly to a changing landscape of for regrowth successfully slowed the bleeding.

restrictive state mandates and CDC guidelines. Who knows how much worse our situation could
The transition to online meetings caused a lot of have been if we hadn’t pursued that vision?
people to burn out and leave Toastmasters with Now that I approach the end of my year as
the idea that they would come back once we your District 7 Director, I look back fondly on

were meeting in person again. Yet it appears that the year I had. I couldn’t have had better Trio
we may never return to what we called normal colleagues to work with than Lorri and Jim—don’t
before COVID. We’ve made a lot of changes to forget our PR Manager, Stephana Johnson, and
continue serving and leading our District online, the excellent job she did after joining our team

and we’re still adapting. Like the title of my in October. We didn’t always agree on tactics, but
Babble-On Club’s winning speech, we continue we shared a common vision of what we wanted
to adapt because that’s what resilient leaders do. to accomplish. This made our weekly meetings
Another skill I honed as a Trio executive, enjoyable and even fun. Everyone understood

particularly as your District Director, is the well their duties and how they fit our mission. We
ability to envision a desired future and pursue enjoyed working together, and we accomplished
it. I envisioned our District recovering from the a lot together. When July 1 rolls around, I will
pandemic and growing. I envisioned us building enjoy the rest that comes with being relieved of

new Clubs and helping existing Clubs rebuild my duties but I will miss working so closely with
their memberships. I envisioned many of those Lorri, Jim, and Stephana. I wish them only the
members who left returning to Toastmasters. best of good fortune in their continued work to
Lorri, Jim, and I wanted District 7 to be lead our District.

Distinguished this year. Did any of this happen? Thank you all for your trust in my abilities
No. We continued to lose members and Clubs. to lead District 7 Toastmasters for a year. I
We’re left to take pride that we finished at the top appreciated the challenge.
of our Region 1 for smallest percentages of Clubs

VOICES! | JUNE 2022 15